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Exactly 11 years after 9/11 it appears the United States has suffered another tragedy at the hands of Islamist terrorists.

The storming of the American Consulate in Benghazi and killing of several Americans is certainly not on the scale of the carnage in 2001. But it will have a substantial impact.

The latest news indicates that the attack was carefully planned and the attackers used the protest as a cover to attack the consulate itself, where a rocket-propelled grenade started a fire that took the lives of four American Foreign Service officers, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

This attack was almost certainly a target of opportunity and the radicals who carried it out probably did not know what big game they had in their sights. Nonetheless, this was a serious blow. The murder of an ambassador is a highly symbolic loss.

But Ambassador Stevens in particular was an experienced diplomat who had liaised with Libya’s opposition as they sought to overthrow Gaddafi. Such a person would have been invaluable as the United States now tries to help the new Libyan government move that long-suffering country towards stability. Individuals with this kind of on-the-ground experience are in short supply and the absence of Ambassador Stevens and the other members of his team who were killed will be felt.

Obviously, Embassy security around the world will be increased. Unfortunately, doing so complicates the ability of American diplomats to do their job of engaging other nations and people, making the United States seem a more remote and less accessible nation.

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